Things to do in Jaipur

Jaipur, the Pink city of India, is a popular tourist, wedding, shopping as well as business destination. Whatever reason you might be here for, you can never really be bored of the city. From orgasmic food to hog to a wide array of things to shop, to eye catchy sight seeing destinations, Jaipur has it all. Here is a list of things to do while you’re in Jaipur:

#Things to do in Jaipur – Go on a historical tour. (Personally, my favourite thing to do in Jaipur)

Jaipur boasts of several historical places and monuments. Though they can all be covered in a day, it might get a little tiring.

CITY PALACE MUSEUM

Home to the rulers of Jaipur since 18th century, it is a stunning blend of Mughal and Rajput architecture. It is symbolic of the wealth of the former ‘maharajas’ and their lavish patronage of the arts. Today the complex is open to the public as the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, popularly known as City Palace museum.

JANTAR MANTAR:

Out of the five observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh II, the one in Jaipur is the largest. Jai Singh was a keen astronomer and was aware of the latest astronomical studies in the world and was inspired by the work of Mirza Ulugh Beg, the astronomer-king of Samarkand. It has been described as “the most realistic and logical landscape in stone” and is still used to forecast the weather.

HAWA MAHAL:

The ‘Palace of Winds’ or Hawa Mahal was erected in 1799 by Sawai Pratap Singh. It is a composition of windows and balconies with perforated screens. Though five storeys high it is just one room deep. This pink structure was designed to enable the purdah clad ladies of the harem to watch unnoticed the colourful street scenes and state processions. Visitors are permitted to climb up the winding ramp to the top.

JAL MAHAL:

Built by Madho Singh I in the mid 18th century, this splendid “water palace” floats serenely on the calm waters of the lake Man Sagar. It was based on the Lake Palace at Udaipur where the king spent his childhood. A large number of water birds can also be sighted here.

We hope you enjoy this historical tour and your revisit to the glorious past of Jaipur.

#Things to do in Jaipur – Shopping

Jaipur is a great place to shop for meenakari and traditional jewellery, silver jewellery, bandhani turbans and sarees, tie- and-dye textiles, lightweight Jaipuri quilts, and jootis. These items can be bought in the local bazaars like Nehru Bazaar, Bapu Bazaar, Johari Bazaar, Hawa Mahal Market. If you do not possess good bargaining skills, then it is not advisable to shop at these places. You could use the government stores and emporiums like Rajasthali Handicraft Emporium.

#Things to do in Jaipur – Eat till you can.

Jaipur is a haven for food lovers. From street food to Rajasthani thali to fine dining, one can find here a wide array of cuisines to choose from, depending on one’s palate.